German Department

German exchange

12 boys and 5 Girls from Year 10 took part in the exchange with the Hardtberg Gymnasium in Bonn, accompanied by Miss Sullivan and Mrs Warburton. It was a very successful week,as everyone had a great time and got on well with their partners. The pupils improved their German and really enjoyed the experience of another culture. We arrived at Köln-Bonn airport at 11 pm on Sunday night and were met by a welcoming group of German families and a teacher. We were in school by 7.45am the next day, which was the first day of the new term for the German school. On the following day, we visited the largest indoor climbing wall in Germany at Wesseling. The pupils paired up with their partners to climb and learned some German climbing terms. We visited Köln and the Sportmuseum there and enjoyed sightseeing in a large city. Our pupils felt that that German children have more freedom, because school is often over by 1.15pm and the children use bicycles or public transport instead of relying on their parents for lifts. Some also said that they felt very safe in Germany when using public transport in the evenings. We are all looking forward to the return leg in Bolton from 22 to 29th June! At the end of the Spring term, girls and boys from Years 11, 12 and 13 had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the German language for a weekend at Patterdale Hall. With speaking examinations looming in April and May, this was a great opportunity to practise speaking German. There were six accompanying staff, of whom three were native speakers of German, which really helped to make it feel authentic. Patterdale Hall staff entered into the spirit, providing us with Bratwurst, Sauerkraut and Apfelstrudel. Every afternoon they brought us Kaffee und Kuchen- the highlight of the trip for some! We watched films and TV programmes in German, we listened to stories, studied the art of Käthe Kollwitz, performed sketches and fairy tales, sang songs and played games in German. By the end of the weekend we were all speaking German more fluently!

Mrs. E Warburton